Jump To:

• General Guidelines
• Step-by-Step Time Entry Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Guidelines

• Employees should report hours worked per day and by category.
• Technology Services settings will commonly have the prefix “UIUC-TechSvc-“ as do other areas of TeamDynamix (TDX).
• Time is tracked against services, projects, and squads.
• Services are defined in the service catalog administered by Technology Services.
• Projects are efforts with a defined scope and timeline to complete deliverables.
• Squads are virtual teams defined by Technology Services’ Matrix Management Office.
• Time that does not go toward services, projects, and squads is reported in two categories:
  • Includes: team meetings not associated with a specific service, project, or matrix squad; all-staff meetings; compliance training (such as annual ethics training); and search committee work.
  • Does not include: Administrative tasks such as meetings or email that are in support of a specific service or project.
  • Includes: Attending a conference; work-related reading or research; training to advance your skills; or professional networking (such as through meetings with others in your field).
  • Does not include: Compliance training (such as annual ethics training).
• Team & Organizational Work Time - This is the equivalent of “Indirect” time in CA PPM.
• Professional Development

Step-by-Step Time Entry Instructions

1. Navigate to TDNext at help.uillinois.edu/TDNext/
2. Select the Time & Expenses tab. If Time & Expenses does not appear as one of your tabs:
1. Select the Applications Menu in the upper left (the blue rectangle with a grid of white squares, also known as the “waffle” icon).
2. Select Time & Expenses.
   
   
   
3. Use the Today button or blue arrows to navigate to the week for which you want to report time.

   Important Note: The options that appear for you in Time & Expenses are based on the teams you are a part of, including matrix squads, and any projects you are assigned to. Your screen will not list the same headings shown in these instructions. Depending on your assignments, items such as project tasks may appear only within an assigned date range, as in the example below.

   
   
   
4. Click the green plus icon to add time to a particular item. This opens the Add Time Entry box. If there is only one Time Type eligible for that entry, it will be pre-populated, as in the project task example below.
   
         
   
   
5. If there are multiple options, the Time Type field will be blank. Select from the drop-down menu of all the available Time Types. This list is specific to each workspace, so your group’s list will be different from the list in other groups.

   Tip: Click on the blue question mark icon to view the description of all the Time Types you could select for the selected Project or Workspace.

   
   
   
6. Enter time in the applicable days, then click Save. The description field below the daily hours is optional but allows for notes about individual days if you choose to use it.
   
   
   
   
7. Repeat Step 6 for other categories, including in the same workspace, such as reporting time spent on multiple services during the week. The resulting timesheet will display multiple lines, although the time type names may be truncated as in the example below.

   Tip: To add additional time to the same Time Type later in the week, you can select any of the green plus icons and use the drop-down menus of the Add Time Entry box to pick the Time Type you want. You do not have to click on the existing line matching that Time Type.

   
   
   
8. After saving all work hours for the week:
   1. Click Submit Final.
      
      
      
      
   2. In the Submit Time Report box that appears, enter any desired comments, check anyone who should be notified, then click Submit as Final.
      
      
      
      
   3. Click OK.
      
      
      
      
9. Your submitted time report will show “Time report successfully submitted” and display any comments entered.
   
        

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Jump to:

• What increment of time should I report in (such as 15- or 30-minute increments)?
• How many hours per week should I be reporting?
• Are there different expectations for employees with 37.5-hour versus 40-hour workweeks?
• How does this time reporting interact with other places I report time, like the my.techservices.illinois.edu portal, civil service timesheets, or Positive Time Reporting (PTR)?
• What is this time reporting used for?
• It seems like a time category is missing. What should I do?
• Can I or my group track time against tickets?
• What should I do if I think the workspaces or projects I’m in are incorrect?
• How should I report time spent on services that aren’t listed in the service catalog, such as services internal to Tech Services?
• How should I report other tasks such as planning of events, participation in committees, etc.?
• How should I report answering questions or providing input to other staff on ideas?

Question: What increment of time should I report in (such as 15- or 30-minute increments)?

Answer: The intent is for reporting to be “close enough” rather than implying that the data artificially precise. Our recommendation is that staff report in increments no smaller than 15 minutes.

Question: How many hours per week should I be reporting?

Answer: The expectation is that the time reported reflects hours worked. There is no expectation that it match a full-time schedule in any given week or on an ongoing basis. For instance, hours worked would be less in weeks with leave time.

Question: Are there different expectations for employees with 37.5-hour versus 40-hour workweeks?

Answer: No, in either case the expectation is that time reported reflects hours worked. For overtime non-exempt staff, this will match the time reported on payroll timesheets. For overtime-exempt staff, this will commonly fluctuate based on the work needed that week rather than strictly matching regularly scheduled work hours.

Question: How does this time reporting interact with other places I report time, like the my.techservices.illinois.edu portal, civil service timesheets, or Positive Time Reporting (PTR)?

Answer: There is no automated link between Team Dynamix and the other systems. Since leave time is reported elsewhere, it is not also reported in Team Dynamix. Since both Team Dynamix and PTR are based on hours worked, one option is to report the categorized information in Team Dynamix week by week and periodically update PTR based on those totals.

Question: What is this time reporting used for?

Answer: Technology Services uses time reporting data for service costing and understanding how we use our resources. Technology Services Directors group communicated their goals for tracking this data and expanding the ways we use it in a May 27, 2021 email.

Question: It seems like a time category is missing. What should I do?

Answer: First, it’s important to note that the time categories in Team Dynamix are intentionally not the list from CA PPM. For example, there is no “indirect” option. CA PPM time reporting focused on tasks, while Team Dynamix reporting is limited to services, projects, and squads, so there are not equivalents to many of the tasks staff might be accustomed to reporting. That said, if you think a category is missing, please contact the Team Dynamix support team.

Question: Can I or my group track time against tickets?

Answer: Not at this time. While TDX allows reporting time against tickets, that is not the established standard for Technology Services, so groups should not report time on tickets at this time. As we iterate the ways we use the system, this could change in the future.

Question: What should I do if I think the workspaces or projects I’m in are incorrect?

Answer: For a project, contact the Project Manager. For workspaces, please contact the Team Dynamix support team.

Question: How should I report time spent on services that aren’t listed in the service catalog, such as services internal to Tech Services?

Answer: As of our June 28, 2021 launch of time reporting in Team Dynamix, this time should be reported as Team & Organizational Work Time. The organization may in the future identify other needed reporting as we improve our resource management processes. Where appropriate, services can be added or modified in the service catalog through consultation with the Service Management Office (techservices-smo@illinois.edu).

Question: How should I report other tasks such as planning of events, participation in committees, etc.?

Answer: As of our June 28, 2021 launch of time reporting in Team Dynamix, this time should be reported as Team & Organizational Work Time. The organization may in the future identify other needed reporting as we improve our resource management processes.